Six runs in the first two innings and a steady start from Zeke Spruill were too much for the Potomac Nationals to overcome on Saturday in Lynchburg and they dropped the opener to the Hillcats 8-3. Spruill won his third start and snapped a four-game Lynchburg losing streak in a game that saw the ‘Cats overwhelm the ‘Nats from the start.
The P-Nats (38-48, 9-8) did seize the first lead of the game, however. In the top of the first, Francisco Soriano hit a bullet to center field and moved to second on Jeff Kobernus’s sacrifice bunt. Destin Hood then hit his own laser to center that put Potomac on the board and notched Hood’s 53rd RBI. From there on, Spruill settled in – with plenty of support from his offense.
The Nats seized the lead back in their half of the opening inning. After Adam Olbrychowski struck out Marcus Lemon to open the game, Andrelton Simmons, Phil Gosselin and Joey Terdoslavich singled to tie the game; it would not be the last that noise made by Gosselin and Terdoslavich. The Hillcats (36-50, 6-10) took a 2-1 lead when Barrett Kleinknecht hit a sacrifice fly to left.
Spruill then retired 11 of the next 12 Nationals hitters – the only man who reached was J.R. Higley on Andrelton Simmons’s error in the second.
In the second inning, Lynchburg exploded for four more runs. With one out, five straight Hillcats got hits. An L.V. Ware triple plated the first run of the inning and was followed by two infield singles from Lemon and Simmons (which scored a fourth run). Gosselin then doubled to left to make it 6-1.
A Sean McGill double opened the fifth, became another run and ended Olbrychowski’s night in favor of Evan Bronson. The ‘Cats got a run off Bronson in the sixth and led 8-1.
Potomac’s bats finally awakened in the seventh. Justin Bloxom’s leadoff double was their first hit since the first inning; he would score on J.R. Higley’s single to center. Steven Souza walked between the two and moved to third on Higley’s hit. Spruill then caught Higley off first base but threw into center field to allow Souza to score and cut the score to 8-3. After he hit Cutter Dykstra, Spruill gave way to Eliecer Cardenas who got the last two outs of the innings, stranded his first two inherited runners of the season and escaped the jam.
The Nationals went quietly in the ninth against lefty Ryan Buchter. Sunday night at 6:05 P.M., Sammy Solis makes his second start for Potomac against southpaw Blaine Sims.
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Chris Graham
